Perceived Environmental Quality Indicators as Health-Enabling Elements Within Prisons

Abstract

This study evaluates the transition from an older to a new prison facility in Italy to help researchers understand the health-enabling features within prisons from incarcerated persons’ point of view. A total of 216 inmates completed a questionnaire that measured the prison's environmental quality and quality-of-life related constructs. Bivariate correlations show that as inmates’ environmental perceptions improve, so does their place evaluation. When the older and newer prisons were compared, the results revealed the newer prison was more positively evaluated in terms of care of significant spaces, presence of light, beauty, safety, sociability, concentration, and satisfaction.